Home » Sri Lanka’s Northern province has recorded the highest GDP growth rate of 22.9 per cent last year

Sri Lanka’s Northern province has recorded the highest GDP growth rate of 22.9 per cent last year

Mon, 2011-07-18 11:58  editor

A.A.M.Nizam in Colombo

Colombo, 18 July, (Asiantribune.com):

Sri Lanka’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2010 has increased by 15.9 per cent, and reached Rs. 5,602 billion with a per capita income of Rs. 271,259 equivalent to US$ 2,399.

The Western province, which includes the most populous districts of Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara has made the highest contribution to GDP last year. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka said that, however, the province’s share in GDP reduced to 45.1 per cent from 45.8 per cent in 2009. As in 2009, Southern province which comprises the districts of Galle, Matara and Hambantota has provided the second highest contribution which was 10.7 per cent, an increase compared to 10.5 per cent in 2009.

The Bank said that the Central province provided the third highest contribution maintaining its relative position compared to 2009 and managing to increase its GDP contribution to 10.0 per cent in 2010. However, the contribution of the North Western province declined to 9.4 per cent in 2010 from 9.6 per cent in 2009.

As per the statistics provided by the Bank, the contributions to GDP from Northern, Eastern, North Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces increased in 2010 while that of the Uva province was unchanged.

The Central Bank points out that in line with improvements in country’s economic environment, all the provinces have reported a double digit growth rate in 2010.

It says that reflecting the rapid expansion in income generating activities in the Northern province, GDP growth rate was highest in the province at 22.9 per cent.

It’s contribution to GDP also increased from 3.2 per cent in 2009 to 3.4 per cent in 2010. The North Central province has reported a 20.3 per cent GDP growth rate which is the second highest among all the provinces. Sabaragamuwa and Eastern provinces also reported high GDP growth rates of 19.1 and 18.7 respectively.

As in the past, the Western province contributed significantly to GDP in the country, as most of the economic activities that relate to sea port, air ports, banking and financial institutions and business centers are still centralized in the province. Even though the Western province accounts for the highest share of GDP by far, the Bank says that the slight reduction in its relative share in 2010 indicates a further reduction in the disparity among provinces.